Throttle-controller.



- No. 872,478. PATENTED DEG.3, 1907.

' 0. THUM.

THROTTLE CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED my 14, 1906.

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ummtoz witnesses No. 872,478. PATENTEDDEG. 3, 1907.

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W THROTTLE CONTROLLER.

. APPLIOATIOH FILED IA! 14, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

, amaafo'c wimeo m 'vide means whereby when the brake is ap- UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

no. mans. i

To all whom it'may concern:

Be it known thatI, OTTO THUM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Throttle-Controllers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in throttle controllers, and more fparticularly to internal comcontrollers for the throttles o bustion engines used forpropelling automobiles. Fine and accurate adjustment of such throttles, especially when they are nearly closed, is very desirable' After they are about one-third open, this is not so material. With the usual pedal operated throttle, this fine and accurate adjustment is very difficult, and often requires repeated attempts, whereby thechanges are not quick or accurate enough to meet the conditions of automobile operation, It is also usual to proplied, the throttle automatically closes to a pre-determined minimum. In going up grade or over a heavy road, this openmg' should be greater than on a good or level road, otherwise the engine is-likely to be stalled.

provide means for manually controlling the throttle, auxiliary to the pedalmecham'srn for such purpose and independently operative; and to'provide the device with various new and useful features, hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

My device consists essentially of, inaddition tothe pedal operatedmechanisnr of an automobile as usually constructed, manually operated devices mounted near the steering wheel and adapted to accurately and minutely adjust the said throttle independentof the pedal operated mechanism and also arranged in such manner that either the pedal or the manual device may be used at pleasure, also so that the manual device will operate as an adjustable stop for the pedal mechanism, and in the various features of Specification of Application filed May 14, 1906. Serial'No. 316,700-

Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 3, 1907*.

combination and arrangement hereinafter more fully described, reference beinghad to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:-

Figure 1. is a plan view of the lower part of a device embodying myinvention; Fig. 2. an

elevation of the upper'part of the sameyFig.

Fig. 4, a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 2.; Fig. 5. a rear elevation of the same; Fig.- 6. a detail in section on the line 66 of Fig. 1

line 7-7 of Fig. 1;, 100 g to the right; Fig. 8. the same on the line 88 of Fig. 1. and Fig. 9 on enlarged transverse section of the lorlqembers 30 and 32 taken on the line 99 of 1g. 4. Like numbers refer to like-parts in all of the figures.

. adapted to control an mternal combustion .0 me; 2 a lever to adjust the said valve; 3 a r d attached to the lever to o erate the same; 4 a link on the end of the r0 5 a lever pivotally connected'to the link and having a sliding connection therewith; 6 a contractile spring connected to the rod3 at one end and to the lever 5 at the other end, wherebythe lever is yieldingly held in connection with the forward end of the. link.

- 7 is a rock shaft on thelower end of which the lever 5 is fixed.

8 is a lever to o crate the rockshaft, which lever isconnecte t6 a pedal lever 11 mounted on a rod 10-and connected to the lever 8 by. a rod 9. 12 is a rack fixed on the rock shaft 7 and held by a, pawl 13, whereby the throttle 11 has been depressed to adjust the valve.

14 is an extension of the pawl 13, which extension is engaged by a push rod-15 to -re-. lease the pawl and ermit the throttle valve toclose whenever t e brake pedal 16 is depressed. The brake pedal for this purpose is provided with a rod 17 to .connect the same to thebrake and also having the rod 15 attached thereto. To the brake pedal 16 is also connected the emergency brake commonly used, by means of a rod 25 having a independently depressed, an said pedal also operated whenever the emergency. brake is applied. Thus the application of either the pedal brake or the emergency brake will move the rod 15 a ainst the projection 14 and release the pawl looking to theleft;Fi 7. the same on the,

- 1 represents any convenient throttle valve link in the end, whereby the edal 16 may be 3. an elevation of-the parts shownin Fig. 1.

valve isheld more orless open after the pedal 13, thus-permitting the throttlevalve to close to the minimum openm 14 is an adjusting screw to limit the movement ofthe segment and determine this minimum opening of the throttle. Thus when the brake is applied, the throttle is automatically nearly closed and admits an amount of combustible only sufficient to keep the engine running under ordinary conditions.

So far the device described is substantially old except as to the link 4, and the sliding connection therewith of the lever 5, which is for the purpose of permitting the manually operated mechanism to be used independent of the pedal mechanism. The manually operated means for controlling the throttle is also provided with a sliding connection with the rod 3, and is preferablyconstructed as follows: A pin 18 is inserted in the rod 3, which pin forms a stop engaged by a forked lever 19 mounted on a rock shaft 20, and slidable on the rod 3. provided with a lever 21 fixed on the-same and connected by a rod 22 to a bell crank lever 23 mounted on the rod 10 between the pedals 11 and 16.

Extending from the lever 23 upward and parallel with the steering post 26 1s a rod 24, the upper end of which rod is attached to a manua ly operated lever 29 pivoted to a bracket 28 mounted on the upper end of the.

0st 26. Op osite the lever 29 is another ever 29 and these two levers diverge at their movable ends and are connected by a segment 30 adapted to be manually depressed by the hand'of the operator applied to the steering wheel 27. This se ment is of'sufficient extent concentric wit the rim of the wheel 27 that it can be conveniently operated without shifting the hand upon said wheel. Whenever the lever 29 is depressed, it will by means of the described connections open the valve 1 without affecting the pedal 0 erated mechanism, or being retarded t ereby, the connection of the lever 5 sliding toward the rear of the link 4=and leaving the pedal mechanism unmoved and practically disconnected therefrom. The 1n 18 will also move away from the forke end of the lever 19 when the pedal mechanismis operated, without affecting the manual device This manually operated device being intended for delicate adjustment is thus unincumbered by anything else when operated. Thisiorkand pin connection also revents shocks on the manual device when t e pedal mechanism is released.

To hold the valve open when manually adjusted, a finel divided ratchet 35 (see Fig. 5.) is rovide which ratchet is en a ed, by a paw 36 on th lever 29 and thus o lds the lever depressed until the pawl is released. To release this. pawl, a lever 31 is ivoted between the levers 29 and provide with a Said rock shaft is downwardly projecting arm 37, which engages and releases the pawl 36.

To de ress the lever 31, a segment 32 is mounte on the same, arranged near the segment 30 and concentric therewith. To distinguish these segments 30 and 32 and prevent mistake, one segment (preferably 30) is made convex and the other segment is made concave. A spring 33 yieldingly su ports the levers 29, and a sprin 34 yielding y supports the levers 31 Thus when released these levers normally rise to their elevated position.

37 represents the usual lever for adjusting the lead of the spark in the engine.

From the foregoing description of the device, and its mode of o eration, it will be observed that when bot the pedal and man'- ually operated means for opening the throttle are released, the throttle will automatically.

assume'its nearly closed position, (which is determined by adjusting the screw 14) to supply only sufficient fuel to keep the engine in motion. By opening the throttle by the manually operated device, it can be opened on a finer adjustment that can be conveniently done by the pedal mechanism and such adjustmentcan also be used as the minimum stop in place of the screw 14 if so desired, whereby the throttle will not be closed to so great an extent as the screw is adjusted for, and will close more 'or less according as the manual device is adjusted. The pedal'mechanism is operated to open the throttle more widely for high duty, such as bad roads, up-grades, or fast running, and

-, the throttle is automatically dropped back .to the manually adjusted opening at any time that the brake may be applied, or the manual adjustment wholly released and the throttle closed down to the screw adjustment. It will'be'noted that'the lever 5 rigidly enga es the end of the link 4 and the lever 19 likewise engages the pin 18, whereby a positive opening of the-throttle by the pedal is secured and a positive stop for the throttle is provided when the pedal mechanism is released, thus insuring prompt and accurate operation. In the event of approaching a crowded thoroughfare or any place where slow movement and accurate close throttling is desirable,.the manually operated; mechanism becomes available at any time,

and is much more convenient and reliable than the edal operated device alone. By the described devices, I am able to use the manual control alone, or the pedal control alone, or the manual device as an adjustable and rigid minimum stop for the pedal control; or to instantly shift from one to the other and also to operate the manual device with the same hand that operates the steering wheel, thus leavingthe' other hand of the operator free for the emergency brake, spark adjuster or other uses.

named holding The part of the subject matter herein shown comprisin the steering 0st and the devices mounte thereon an connected therewith, are not herein claimed, but are reserved for a separate application in accordance with the requirement of the Office for division of this application.

What I claim 1s:

1. In an automobile, in combination with a throttle, a manually operated lever to partially open the throttle, means for adjusting and holding said lever, pedal operated means for wholly o ening the throttle, separate means for hol ing the throttle insaid opened position, and means for releasing the last means, connected to the brake mechanism and automatically operated thereby.

2. In an automobile in combination with an engine throttle, a rod to open the throttle, two lndependently movable levers, each rigidly engaging the rod, in one direction only to open the valve, a spring connected to the rod and yieldingly closing the valve,

means for manually adjusting one of the levers, and means for pedal adjustment of the other lever.

23. In an automobile the combination of an engine throttle, a rod to open the throttle, a

spring to close the throttle, a manually adj usted lever, a pin on the rod engaged by the lever to open the valve and movable away from the lever, a second lever, means for independently adjusting said second lever, and a link on the rod having a rigid engagement with said lever, at one end and freely movable relative to said lever.

4. In an automobile, in combination with an engine throttle, a rod to open the throttle, a spring to move the rod in one direction, two separately adjustable levers, each rigidly engaging the rod in opposition to the spring, means for manually adjusting one of by to release the pawl.

.said levers, means for pedal adjustment of the other lever, a 'pawl and ratchet to hold said last named "lever, and a rod connected to the brake mechanism and operated there- 5. In an automobile, the combinationof an engine throttle, pedal operated means for controlling the throttle, a manually operated lever, means for connecting said lever to the throttle to partially open the same independently of the'pedal operated means, a ratchet and pawl to hold said lever, and av second manually operated lever to release the pawl.

6. In an automobile, an engine throttle,

pedal operated means for controlling said throttle andhaving a rod connected to the throttle, a stop on the rod, a pivoted lever slidable on the rodand engaging the stop to move the rod, a manually operated lever connected to the first named lever to move the same, a pawl and ratchet to hold the last named lever, and a second manually operated lever near the same to release the pawl.

7. In an automobile, an engine throttle, a rod to control the throttle, two leversto independently move the rod, and each slidably connected therewith, a pedal connected to one lever to operate the same, a pawl and ratchet to holdthe lever, a brake pedal, a

rod to release the ratchet and operated by the'brake pedal, a manually operated lever connected to the other of the first named levers to move the same, a pawl and ratchet Y to hold the manually operated lever, and a second manually operated lever to release the said pawl.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature in presence of two witnesses. 

